LOS ANGELES — After making the National League All-Star team in midseason, Ross Stripling had a 6.41 ERA in the second half and was left off the Dodgers’ roster for their National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves.

And he only has himself to blame for it.

“I was tipping pitches down the stretch, big time,” he said after Wednesday’s workout at Dodger Stadium.

The right-hander relies heavily on his curveball, making a tip that let opposing hitters know when the breaking pitch was coming valuable, to say the least.

Stripling said he had no idea but “a lot of people” – apparently on the Dodgers and opposing teams – did. Stripling’s tell involved the positioning of both his feet and his hands in the stretch position. He came to a set position with his hands higher or lower based on which pitch he was going to throw. Even before that, he would pull his left foot back even with his right foot on a fastball, more out in front of his body if he was going to throw a breaking ball.

Like others before him – there is still no consensus in the Dodgers’ clubhouse on whether Yu Darvish was tipping pitches during last year’s World Series – Stripling said just having the knowledge that he was doing it didn’t necessarily make correcting it a snap.

“We were trying to fix it down the stretch and really what happened was when I was on the mound it was all I was thinking about,” he said.

“What happens is, you might know it and you think you’re fixing it and you’re not. Or you’re facing Paul Goldschmidt and you’re like, ‘I don’t want to think about my feet. I want to think about getting Paul Goldschmidt out.’”

Stripling has thrown in the bullpen and to hitters over the past week and feels he has eliminated the problem. Whether that lands him on the roster for the best-of-seven NLCS remains to be seen. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the team is still considering a couple changes to the roster for the next round and Stripling said he was told before Wednesday’s workout that the final decision has not been made yet.

“At the end of the day, I think we only gave up one run out of the bullpen against Atlanta,” Stripling said. “So it’s an if-it’s-not-broke-don’t-fix-it type of thing. But obviously, we play matchups as much as anyone. So I’m not sure what they’re thinking. They told me an hour ago they hadn’t decided so I’m sort of in limbo. I’m not overly optimistic, just waiting to see what they do.”

PITCHING PLANS

The Brewers announced their starter for Game 1 of their NLDS on Twitter as the “initial out-getter” – it was reliever Brandon Woodruff. They have not announced their starting plans for the NLCS yet.

The Dodgers will start left-hander Clayton Kershaw in Game 1, but Roberts would not say anything beyond that when asked Wednesday.

“We don’t have our starter for Game 2 or 3 decided yet,” Roberts said, acknowledging only that there were a number of factors being considered – none of which he was willing to discuss.

Hyun-Jin Ryu started Game 1 of the NLDS followed by Kershaw and rookie Walker Buehler. This round, though, they might go with Kershaw and Buehler in the first two games, holding Ryu back for Game 3 at Dodger Stadium. He had a 1.15 ERA and 0.90 WHIP in nine regular-season starts at Dodger Stadium this year, then held the Atlanta Braves scoreless for seven innings in his NLDS start, extending his scoreless streak at home to 21 innings.

“We understand that he has pitched better at home this year than on the road,” Roberts said. “But Hyun-Jin is a veteran pitcher. Regardless of where he pitches, we expect him to throw the ball well. We haven’t made that decision yet. But we’re confident he’ll pitch well wherever he pitches.”

ALSO

Relievers Josh Fields and Dylan Floro threw to hitters at the end of Wednesday’s workout in a simulated-game setting. Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor were among the hitters.

Bill Plunkett has covered everything from rodeo to Super Bowls to boxing (yeah, I was there the night Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield's ear off) during a career that started far too long ago to mention and eventually brought him to the OC some time last century (1999 actually). He has been covering Major League Baseball for the Orange County Register since 2003, spending time on both the Angels and Dodgers beats.